By Jas Dillard, Kumon of Myers Park
The most wonderful time of the year is also one of the busiest. With family, travel, and other holiday plans, it’s easy to be off a regular schedule. And with our sometimes hectic holiday schedule, time spent on feeding our brain a healthy dose of a good book, math problems, and a challenging but fun puzzle are hard to come by. There’s plenty to celebrate this time of year, and there’s plenty of room to quiet our minds and feed our brains even if it’s just for 15 minutes each day. It’s so important and can be a nice change of pace from lots of noise in the house.
After finding a quiet little nook, you can explore a far away place in a book, write a journal entry to share with your teacher and class, write thank you notes to generous friends and family, memorize your multiplication tables through a fun app on a tablet or even complete 15 to twenty minutes of math and reading Kumon worksheets.
Believe it or not, the re-entry into school after the winter holidays is much harder on all of us than summer re-entry. At least with summer, there are schedules to follow for camps, pool time, play dates galore, etc… So in order for your children to feel successful and not overwhelmed when they head back to school in January, keep on a schedule, especially the last week of break. Wake up at a good time and sleep at a decent time. While ice cream for breakfast was a great idea for one day over break, maybe don’t indulge everyday. Still limit screen time. Take a break every 30 minutes and if you notice that transitioning from screens to something else is super difficult for your child, that’s a sure sign they are indulging in screen time way too much. Even on the busiest and most unscheduled of days, read a book or make sure your child has a good book to read, do a few math 
problems or a word problem or two, work on a puzzle and make it your family goal to finish it before break! Our favorite puzzles are The White Mountain Puzzles.
Don’t forget to also consider playing board games and playing cards as great forms of learning to keep skills sharp! Some of our family favorites are Blokus, Rummikub, Chutes and Ladders, Life, Monopoly, Sequence, Payday, Clue and Connect Four. Search Amazon for lots of wonderful ideas!
Kumon and other forms of learning are like vitamins. You don’t need to do too much to enrich your mind and find peace during a busy holiday season. You’re more likely to stay sharp and transition back into the first week of school super well! Even just a little bit of routine will make the transition back from breaks so much easier!
Wishing you a wonderful holiday season!
To learn more about us visit us at
Kumon of Myers Park
Parktowne Village
1600 East Woodlawn Road, Ste 261
Charlotte, NC 28209
704-327-8839
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Kumon of Matthews – Weddington McKee
Plantation Market
3016 Weddington Rd.
Charlotte, NC 28270
704-846-8798
Kumon of Wesley Chapel
5922 Weddington Rd. A7
Wesley Chapel, NC 28104
704-843-5555
